Earlier this week, I went to kiss the husband good night. I noticed that he had a page from Archives.gov up on his laptop.

"What are you reading?"

"The Warren Commission Report."

*pause*

"Why?" (For what he does for a living, this could have been a legit work thing.)

"The internet."

I laughed because no further explanation was necessary. Heck, half of what makes it in to the links below is because of "the internet."

"The internet" happens because everything is hyperlinked. We jump from one page, to the next, to the next, ad nauseum. We enter vortices of reading and research because of deep linking.

​I wrote a paper in college about how hyperlinks are the new footnote. They give us more information and context about a particular thing. We don't simply read a page and be done with it. We open additional tabs, do some quick Google searches, and jump between pages in fits of learning. Thousands of browser windows have crashed under the weight too many tabs open because someone wanted to fulfill a learning need.

The internet is problematic and toxic for many reasons, but it's also one of the greatest inventions of human history. Information about anything is now available to be researched, read, shared, and discussed. Linking is the main form of connection showing us how everything we know and experience is interwoven.

What have you ended up reading because of "the internet"?

Early in the week I started Journal Me Organized: The Complete Guide to Practical and Creative Planning by Rebecca Spooner. One of the categories of books I can't say no to is titles about organization, journaling, and productivity. I fell down a rabbit hole of linked subject headings when looking at books available through my public library... and that's how this book ended up coming home with me. As a bullet journaler, I love the artsy stuff. I honestly am not expecting to learn much. I just want to look at the pretty pages. These books are a comfort read for me.

• You did enough today. Don't let productivity dysmorphia tell you otherwise. [Lifehacker]

• How to save the memories in your text messages. [WaPo - gift link]

• When artificial reefs go wrong. [Fast Company]

• Polar bears take over abandoned Russian meteorological station. [Colossal]

• The reason your CVS receipt is so damn long. [CVS].

• Happy library story of the week. [WaPo - gift link]

• The Library of Congress classification system needs an upgrade. [Lit Hub - reader submission]

• As a sometimes letter writer, I co-sign this essay. [Book Riot]

• The math behind the bells. [Atlas Obscura]

• A blunt and brilliant interview with Gabrielle Union. [Code Switch]

• How do you solve a problem like Spider-Man? [Planet Money]

• Sometimes it pays to listen to eleven year-olds. [99% Invisible]

• Louder for the NIMBYs in the back. [The Indicator]

• Beach penguins! [Atlas Obscura]

• For our recent movie nights, we've defaulted to action flicks. Our recent foray was The Colony. If I had to describe it, I would called it an updated version of Waterworld with a hint of space. It was a good story - well acted and all that - but I kept find myself asking how hard it must have been to film most of the scenes. [Netflix]

• Somehow, we completely missed that The Grand Tour came out with its second lockdown special, Carnage a Trois. This episode is deliberately making fun of French stereotypes, but it only works because it comes from a deeper understanding and respect for French culture. We were legitimately laughing out loud through this one. [Amazon]

• For the second time in two weeks, we watched parts of A League of Their Own. I went deep into a research rabbit hole while watching. I learned that the cast was picked for their baseball skills before their acting ones. That's why this movie is so darn good. [Tubi]

• Keeping with the Tom Hanks theme, we also watched Apollo 13 . I don't keep an actual list of Top 5 favorite films but, if I did, this one would be near the top, if not number one. It's simply one of the best modern movies ever made. It is so rich in detail, perfectly cast, and stands the test of time. Even the CGI holds up. I'm flabbergasted that this lost the Oscar for Best Picture to Braveheart. The Academy got that one wrong. [Amazon]

• We had some leftover pumpkin puree in our freezer that needed to be used. Turns out, we had the exact amount called for to make these pumpkin oatmeal bites. It's a no bake dish that we made as a family. The kiddo had fun shaking in extra spices and rolling the balls. She was skeptical about eating them at first, but thoroughly enjoyed several with her dinner later that night. [Bless This Mess]

• One of the Husband's goals for the year is to cook fancier meals more often. I get to reap the benefits. This week, he made Indian-inspired shepherd's pie. It was phenomenal. Super flavorful from the curry without being spicy (we omitted the red chile pepper). [Ambitious Kitchen]

Have you ever taken the perfect picture… except for that one thing annoying you in the background? I feel that. I am also not good at Photoshop so I’ve had to live with those annoying things staying in my pictures. No longer! Cleanup.pictures is a web tool that helps you remove unwanted items from your pictures. It’s easy to use and actually works. The free version limits picture resolution to 720p, but that’s good enough for most things.

Have a Thing of the Week recommendation? Reply to this email to share it with me and you’ll see it in an upcoming newsletter.

Between classes, one-on-one appointments, and research interviews it’s going to feel like forever to get to Friday.